Form finisher



July 25, 1967 Y B. G. BLEVENS 3,332,590

FORM FINISHER Filed March 24, 1966 v 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BERTRAM G. BLEVENS ATTORNEY July 25, 1967 B. G. BLEVENS FORM FINISHER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1966 INVENTQR BERTRAM G. BLEVENS I ATTORNEY July 25, 1967 B. G. BLEVENS 3,332,590

FORM FINISHER Filed March 24, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1N VENTOR BERTRAM 6. BLEVENS BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,332,590 FORM FINISHER Bertram G. Blevens, Louisville, Ky., assignor to W. M.

Cissell Manufacturing Company, Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Filed Mar 24, 1966, Ser. No. 537,068 Claims. (Cl. 223-67) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A form finisher having its manipulatable portions arranged for increased efliciency of an operator serving a pair of similar form finishers located adjacent each other. The upright members of the rotatable form against which garment clamps are pressed being angularly displaced, as related to the axis of rotation of the form, from the manipulatable bag-sizing control handles housed in a structure rotatable with the form; the stationary portion of the finisher mounting a horizontally rotatable arm carrying an electrical control for operation of the machine, and a water spray means.

This invention relates to an apparatus for rapidly and efficiently finishing garments which are placed upon and later removed from an inflatable bag to which steam and heated air are selectively supplied. More especially, it relates to an improved form finisher having the several elements of its stationary base assembly and of its elevated rotatable assembly coordinated as to location, size, and function in such manner as to enable the operator to achieve a maximum output of work and without undue exertion.

The duties of the operator may include several distinct operations, such as adjusting of bag size for different garments, dressing of the garment upon the bag, clamping and unclamping of the bag and garment upon and from the apparatus when certain garments are treated, controlling the supply of processing fluids, spraying of supplementary moistures on the exterior of the garment, and removing the finished garment from the apparatus. When one or more of these operations require the operator to take additional steps, or to reach an inordinate distance, or to move the apparatus to avoid interference with a later-to-be conducted operation, the efiiciency of the overall operation is hampered. It is these and other disadvantages of conventional form finishers which it is a purpose of my invention to overcome.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved form finisher having a rotatable assembly including a control means for adjusting size of the bag and a bagsupporting frame having a member against which a clamp is adapted to bear, and with the control means and member being spaced angularly from each other about the axis of rotation of the assembly.

Another object is to provide an improved form finisher having a rotatable arm supporting a control means for initiating fiow of steam to the garment and adapated to be rotated to positions at which two such adjacent machines may be served by an operator located at a single station.

Another object is to provide an improved form finisher having a rotatable arm supporting a water spray means and adapted to be rotated to positions at which two such adjacent machines may be served by an operator located at a single position.

A further object is to provide a form finisher generating its individual supply of water for garment spraying purposes.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as 3,332,596 Patented July 25, 1967 "ice the description proceeds and when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the form finisher, with parts broken away and showing the bag in fully inflated condition, and wtth the clamps removed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view, with parts broken away, of the rotatable assembly and with the bag, clamps, and interior bag-size-adjusting means removed.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the stationary base assembly of the form finisher with parts broken away and showing the supply of water for spraying purposes.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a suitable front clamp for use with the form finisher.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view showing two of the form finishers adapted to be served by an operator located at a single station, and

FIG. 6 is a schematic wiring diagram indicating an electrical circuit means for controlling flow of processin g fluids to the garment.

Refering now to FIG. 1, an apparatus embodying the invention comprises a stationary base assembly adapted to rest upon the fioor and including a housing 10 having side walls 11, 12, an elevated tray-like cover 13, a rear edge 14, and a downwardly sloping front cover 15. Pivotally mounted upon the housing cover is a hollow arm 16 adapted to swing through approximately about the front of the housing 10, and for a purpose later to appear.

Mounted within the housing 10 is a blower 20, driven by an electric motor 21 and adapted to force air under pressure into a duct 22 which extends into the side of an annular air heating chamber 23. A suitable damper arrangement for controlling this flow of air is mounted in the duct and preferably is of the type more fully disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 528,174 filed Feb. 17, 1966, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. From the floor of the heating chamber a hollow steam column 24 extends upwardly through the upper opening 25 in the chamber and is adapted to detachably and rotatably support at its upper end, as by means of a suitable bearing 26, the rotatable assembly later to be described. Mounted within the chamber is a spiral steam coil 27 connected at its upper end to a steam supply conduit 28 and at its lower end to the interior of the steam column. Also connected to the steam column adjacent its base is a steam and condensate exhaust conduit 29. Extending from conduit 29 and subject at all times to the pressure therein is a smaller diameter conduit 30 which connects with the top of a combined reservoir and steam condenser 31 mounted in the housing It? and having an outlet 32 at its bottom connected to a condensate conduit 33 under control of a suitable valve 34. When valve 34 is open, condensate under pressure accordingly is supplied to conduit 33 which connects with an elongated flexible hose 35 leading to a spray gun 36 which preferably is of the type disclosed in Ingold Patent No. 3,140,830.

Attached to the outer end of the hollow arm 16 is a control box 37 including a manually operable switch 38 for energizing a solenoid to cause release of steam from column 24 into the form finisher bag, as later to be disclosed, and by means of a bracket 39 the spray gun also is mounted upon the control box thus to place it within convenient reach of the operator. As will thus be seen, a self-contained supply of water for garment moistening purposes is provided for the apparatus, and is arranged at a location which does not interfere with the manipulation of the rotatable assembly.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is provided, for cooperation with the above-described stationary assembly, a rotatable assembly of the type more fully disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 485,338 filed Sept. 7, 1965 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. This structure includes a frame comprising an annular base plate 40 having a circular annular wall 41 vertically upstanding therefrom and loosely encompassed by an annular storage ring 42. Rigidly secured to the wall 41 adjacent the upper edge thereof and located diametrically of that wall are a front upright frame member 43 and a rear upright frame member 44. At their upper ends these members are joined by a neck and shoulder element 45 which preferably is of the type disclosed in Richterkessning Patent No. 3,033,429. Conventional means, not shown, joins the members intermediate their ends and provides for the rotatable mounting of the frame upon the bearing 26 of the stationary steam column. A fluidpervious, flexible, distenable bag is suitably mounted upon the frame in enveloping relation thereto and comprises a bodice portion 50 joined'at its lower end by a bridging portion 51 to a reletively large diameter elongated skirt portion 52. The lower portion 53 of the skirt is attached to wall 41 by means of a siutable bag-fastening string, and the annular weighted storage ring 42 is disposed within the lower portion 53 of the bag.

' As Will now be apparent, the interior of the bag is in communication with the air heating chamber 23 through the aperture 55 in the plate 40 and, depending upon the setting of the bag-sizing controls, Will distend to the selected size when air under pressure is supplied thereto from duct 22.

Attached to plate 40, and to wall 41 beneath the storage ring 42, and projecting laterally therefrom is a hollow enclosure 57 terminating at its distal end in an upwardly extending control housing 58 in which the manually operable controls 59, 60 and 61 for sizing of the bag are mounted and as more fully disclosed in said application, Ser. No. 485,338. As a significant feature of the present invention, the distance of the front frame member 43 from the central vertical plane of control housing 58,

measured between the center lines thereof, angularly counter-clockwise of plate as seen in FIG. 2, is at least and preferably is about 135. This feature serves several useful purposes, among which are the elimination of interference between housing 58 and clamps which are employed with certain garments; the simplification of the mechanism for controlling bag size and which must not interfere with the stationary steam column; and the freedom given to the operator in his choice of an unobstructed station from which he operates the machine. As set forth in said application Ser. No. 485,338, the control handle 59 operates a horizontal rod 62 which in turn adjusts the position of a rod (not shown) controlling the size of the waist portion of the bag and mounted upon front frame member 43', the control handle 60 operates another horizontal rod 63 which in turn adjusts the position of another rod (not shown) controlling the size of the hem portion of the bag and mounted upon that front frame member; and the control handle 61 operates a horizontal rod 64 which serves to determine how far the storage ring 42 may rise.

Also attached to plate 49 and to wall 41 beneath the ring 42 are clamp-mounting brackets 70 and 71 extending radially of the plate and in alignment respectively with the front frame member 43 and the rear-frame member 44. As will be understood, when garments such as overcoats, buttoned open-front dresses, or the like are to be finished, it is customary to employ a detachably mounted front clamp for holding the garment in place upon the bag. Moreover, when garments with back vents are being treated, a rear clamp likewise may be employed. Various forms of clamps maybe used without departing from the invention and as shown in FIG. 4, a suitable front clamp may include a lever 75 having an adaptor 76 at its lower end detachably engageable in bracket 70 for pivotal movement toward and from the front frame member 43. A handle 77 is pivotally mounted on the upper portion of the lever and is provided with a latch rod 78 serving to hold the lever in a selected position. A leaf spring 79 is mounted at its lower end on lever and has a bracket 8% at its upper end to which a vertically adjustable paddle type of clamp 81 is slideably afiixed. Accordingly, by engaging the adaptor 76 in bracket 70 of the structure as shown in FIG. 1, the clamp 81 may be pressed against a garment enveloping the bag and both the garment and bag may be pressed against the front frame member 43 and held in place after the latch rod 78 is suitably engaged. Since this manipulation takes place in an open space removed from the region of the bag-sizing housing 58, the operator is not hampered by any confining presence of that housing.

In manipulating the rotatable assembly it has been found desirable to provide means for rotating the same without requiring the grasping of housing 58. A simple and convenient means is provided for this purpose in the form of a laterally extending rod 85 attached at.its lower end to plate 40 and having an upwardly extending portion 86 terminating in a knob 87, located generally in the same plane as the top 13 of that stationary housing. Preferably, the rod 85 is displaced about 60 from the front frame member 43 and is disposed angularly of the plate 40 between the front and rear frame members. When assembled upon the stationary assembly, the described rod portion 86, as well as the bag-sizing housing 58, extend a shorter distance from the steam column than does the stationary housing cover 15, with the result that the elevated rotatable assembly can rotate freely through 360 without interference with the stationary housing.

As more fully disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 528,174, the electrical controls for operating the apparatus are compactly housed at a convenient location to the operator. For example, the apparatus preferably employs as its chief electrical elements a steam timer 90 and an air timer 91 mounted upon the front panel 15 of the stationary housing, and which may comprise the type 310 timers available from Cramer Controls Corporation, Centerbrook, Connecticut. A main on-ofi switch 92 and a sequence selector switch 93 likewise are mounted on the panel, While a separate air selector switch 94 is mounted upon the control box 37. Associated relays and switches, forming no part of the present invention, are schematically indicated in FIG. 6, and are more fully described in said copending application, Ser. No. 528,174. Housed within an enclosure 95 attached to duct 22 is an air solenoid and a steam solenoid adapted to be energized in a manner chosen by the operator. Forexample, when the steam solenoid is energized the rod 96 associated with the steam column 24 (FIG. 3) is moved in a direction to open a spring-loaded valve 97 and to release steam into the interior of the bag. Conversely, when the steam solenoid is de-energized, the rod 96 moves in a direction to permit that valve to close. As will be apparent, after switch 92 is closed, the operator may start the steam timer and release steam into the bag merely by temporarily pressing switch 38, which, of course, is within easy reach since it is mounted on the swingable arm 16.

With the foregoing description in mind, reference now is made to FIG. 5 showing the useful capabilities of the improved finisher when two such finishers are to be served by a single operator. 'In general, the stationary base assemblies of the two finishers are afiixed to a floor with their longitudinal axes parallel and spaced from each other to provide an appropriate distance between the respective housing NA and 103. The respective arms 16A and 16B are swung toward each other thus to place the control boxes 37A and 37B and the respective spray guns 36A, 3613 in easy reach of the operator. At the same time the controls mounted on the respective front panels 15A and 15B are within easy access to the operator.

Frequently, the Work of the operator is repetitive and does not necessitate the changing of the settings of the bag-sizing-control. In such case the rotatable assemblies may remain in the relative position shown and with the front frame members 43A and 433 being disposed generally as shown for convenient manipulation of front clamps, as required. As will be noted, the bag-sizing-control housing 58A and 58B are then well out of the way whereas the knobs 87A and 87B are within reach of the operator. Merely by pulling or pushing on one of these knobs the appropriate rotatable housing can be shifted to bring the bag-sizing controls within reach for making any desired adjustment of bag size. Moreover, the rotatable assemblies are mounted at an elevated position with respect to the floor so that the operator is not required to bend over, or to stoop, or to use foot controls, in order to carry out his assigned duties.

Having thus described the invention and its attendant advantages it is intended that the appended claims are to cover such changes and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a form finisher, the combination comprising a stationary base assembly and a rotatable assembly mounted upon said base assembly and adapted to carry a distendable fluid-pervious bag; said rotatable assembly including a horizontal plate having a centrally located aperture therein, a generally circular Wall extending upwardly from said plate, a bag-sizing-control housing attached to said plate and spaced laterally from said Wall at a distance at which interference with the placing and removing of garments upon and from the bag is avoided, a bag-supporting frame including a front frame member and a rear frame member mounted at their lower ends upon said wall diametrically thereof and joined at their upper ends by a neck and shoulder element, said front frame member being disposed at least 45 from said bag-sizing-control housing as measured between the center lines thereof angularly of said plate at the axis of rotation of said plate; said base assembly including a steam column projecting upwardly through the aperture in said plate and mounting said rotatable assembly, and a stationary housing attached to said base assembly and spaced from said steam column at a location at which interference of the rotatable and stationary portions of the finisher is avoided during use, thus to permit complete rotation of said rotatable assembly upon said steam column, said stationary housing forming the sole stationary form finisher structure located laterally of said base assembly.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including means attached to said plate for detachably supporting a clamp for holding the bag and a garment placed thereon securely against said front frame member, said means being arranged radially of said plate and on the diameter thereof including said front and rear frame members.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including a manually operable member for moving said rotatable assembly and comprising a rod rigidly attached at its lower end to said plate and having an upper end spaced laterally from said plate and located generally in the plane of the top of said stationary housing, said rod being disposed on the opposite side of said plate from said bagsizing-control housing as related to the diameter of said plate on which said front and rear frame members are located.

4. In a form finisher having a self-contained supply of Water for spraying of garments and comprising in combination, a stationary base assembly and a rotatable assembly mounted upon said base assembly and adapted to carry a distendable fluid-pervious bag; said rotatable assembly including a horizontal plate having a centrally located aperture therein, a generally circular wall extending upwardly from said plate, a bag-sizingcontrol housing attached to said plate and spaced laterally from said wall, a bag-supporting frame including a front frame member and a rear frame member mounted at their lower ends upon said wall diametrically thereof and joined at their upper ends by a neck and shoulder element, said front frame member being disposed at least 45 from said bag-sizing-control housing as measured between the center lines thereof angularly of said plate; said base assembly including an air heating chamber having a hollow steam column therein projecting upwardly through the aperture in said plate and mounting said rotatable assembly, a stationary housing spaced from said steam column at a suitable distance to permit complete rotation of said rotatable assembly upon said column, a heating coil in said chamber connected at one end to said column and at the other end to a steam supply valve, means for releasing steam from said column into the bag, a steam exhaust conduit leading from said column, a condensate reservoir mounted upon said stationary housing, a conduit communicating said reservoir with said exhaust conduit, a spray gun, a conduit communicating said spray gun with said reservoir, and an arm pivotally mounted on said stationary housing and rotatable to Within reach of an operator standing adjacent said front frame member, said arm serving as a support for said spray gun when said spray gun is not in use.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 including an electrical circuit and a switch in said circuit mounted upon said arm adjacent said spray gun, said switch when selectively actuated by the operator being adapted to control the setting of said valve thereby to release steam from said steam column into the bag.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1951 Glover et al. 223-67 8/1960 Richterkessing et al. 22367 

1. IN A FORM FINISHER, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A STATIONARY BASE ASSEMBLY AND A ROTATABLE ASSEMBLY MOUNTED UPON SAID BASE ASSEMBLY AND ADAPTED TO CARRY A DISTENDABLE FLUID-PERVIOUS BAG; SAID ROTATABLE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A HORIZONTAL PLATE HAVING A CENTRALLY LOCATED APERTURE THEREIN, A GENERALLY CIRCULAR WALL EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID PLATE, A BAG-SIZING-CONTROL HOUSING ATTACHED TO SAID PLATE AND SPACED LATERALLY FROM SAID WALL AT A DISTANCE AT WHICH INTERFERENCE WITH THE PLACING AND REMOVING OF GARMENTS UPON AND FROM THE BAG IS AVOIDED. A BAG-SUPPORTING FRAME INCLUDING A FRONT FRAME MEMBER AND A REAR FRAME MEMBER MOUNTED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS UPON SAID WALL DIAMETRICALLY THEREOF AND JOINED AT THEIR UPPER ENDS BY A NECK AND SHOULDER ELEMENT, SAID FRONT FRAME MEMBER BEING DISPOSED AT LEAST 45* FROM SAID BAG-SIZING-CONTROL HOUSING AS MEASURED BETWEEN THE CENTER LINES THEREOF ANGULARLY OF SAID PLATE AT THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID PLATE; SAID BASE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A STEAM COLUMN PROJECTING UPWARDLY THROUGH THE APERTURE IN SAID PLATE AND MOUNTING SAID ROTATABLE ASSEMBLY, AND A STATIONARY HOUSING ATTACHED TO SAID BASE ASSEMBLY, AND A SPACED FROM SAID STEAM COLUMN AT A LOCATION AT WHICH INTERFERENCE OF THE ROTATABLE AND STATIONARY PORTIONS OF THE FINISHER IS AVOIDED DURING USE, THUS TO PERMIT COMPLETE ROTATION OF SAID ROTATABLE ASSEMBLY UPON SAID STEAM COLUMN, SAID STATIONARY HOUSING FORMING THE SOLE STATIONARY FORM FINISHER STRUCTURE LOCATED LATERALLY OF SAID BASE ASSEMBLY. 